Knoxville, TN – Bears baseball treks back home at 5-7 on the season following a double-header with Johnson University. Austin Wetherington tossed seven innings complete as the Bears took game one 4-2 before Johnson would level the day with a 10-1 victory in the second game.

Game 1

As mentioned, Wetherington got the start for UPIKE and hung his first W with a complete game, allowing just two runs on five hits. The junior tossed a pair of punchouts and held the Royals hitless in five of seven innings.

DeMarco Miller had his best outing of the year at the plate, tagging three hits including a double and scored a run. Alabama native AJ Miller recorded his first multi-hit game as a Bear in a 2-3 performance that included a two-RBI triple in the third, later scoring a run.

A Tyler Maynard poke to right field sparked the a two run inning for the Bears in the third inning and was followed up by hits from both Millers. Miller busted a double to right in the top of the fifth and later put the Bears up 3-1 when he scored on an infield hit from Tyler Freas. Freas tacked on the fourth run in the seventh after reaching on an error, drove in by Maynard.

Game 2

The Bears got up quickly in the opening frame of the second game, made possible by Freas who smacked a lead off triple to left-center. Freas scored on the next at bat on an RBI single from Ryan Sartin. Cam Revolt's single to center in the seventh was the third and final hit for the Bears.

Cody Morton manned the bump and picked up the loss after 2.2 innings of work, allowing three runs on three hits. Ty Yates, Jacob Hawkins, and Ethan Cernohous all got some relief action, including Hawkin's first strikeout as a Bear.

Saint Francis comes to down for a four-game series in Pikeville this weekend, set to start Friday, February 18^th at 3:00 PM. Games at Johnnie LeMaster Field can be streamed live via the UPIKE Sports Network.